SIR, The so-called consultation exercise carried out by Cumbria County Council on the acceptable degree of further degradation of the already inadequate level of road maintenance against a scale of proposed increases in council tax was a masterpiece of meaningless obfuscation.

The more than generous increase in salary for senior council officials is defended on the grounds that it is necessary to attract high calibre candidates for these jobs.

I have yet to hear of any shortage of applicants for these already well paid and pensionable positions compared to the hundreds of vacancies in the teaching, medical and nursing professions.

It would be interesting to know what proportion of the working' week of these worthy individuals is devoted to a rigorous analysis of all departments to ascertain where financial savings could be made for little or no reduction in performance as compared to the time spent in justifying their positions to the long suffering ratepayers.

The on-going programme of closing public lavatories, including some of those most used by both residents and tourists is positively inhuman. One wonders if it is possibly in conflict with current Health and Safety Regulations? It is certainly in direct opposition to the clearly expressed wishes of the entire local popular.

It is claimed that the excessive salary rises for these officers will be paid for by increased efficiency.

I suggest that the continued maintenance of all existing toilets be regarded as obligatory and any rises for council executives be funded from increased efficiency, if any.

Laurence H. Frankland

Ulverston

February 14, 2003 11:30